Chapter 60: Labyrinth to Labyrinth

-Woo-oooo! Let go of me!

Heung-bok was having fun with Danhong again.

Danhong, who had been pestering Go Nam-tae, was completely wrapped up in Heung-bok’s leaves.

Still, seeing how he opened the lunchbox the moment it was fully opened, the two were getting along very well.

-Heung-bok, you are really mean! Next time, I’m going to eat all the good stuff by myself!

It was the most terrifying threat in the world.

Heung-bok’s leaves seemed to tremble slightly.

But once it was actually time to eat, the generous guy appeared again.

-I am only sharing this as a special favor. If you do it again, I won’t give you any ever again!

It seemed that the scary threat would only apply starting from the 'next' time.

Danhong handed one of her rice cakes to Heung-bok.

It was the red bean injeolmi, which Danhong had confessed her greatest love for recently.

Watching Heung-bok’s leaves tremble, Go Nam-tae covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

*

After enjoying a pleasant meal, it was time for a break.

Go Nam-tae tried opening the door again.

Opening doors from labyrinth to labyrinth was absolutely necessary.

It was fine when he was making a field across the stream, but he began to recognize the problem once he started reclaiming the riverside.

Go Nam-tae’s territory was large.

And it was growing bigger every single day.

Thanks to Heung-bok helping with the harvest, pulling the cart, and even giving him rides, he was receiving tremendous help, but the physical distance remained.

In particular, the riverbank and the sea were getting further away as he reclaimed more land, making the travel time a waste.

That was why he was practicing opening the doors one by one, starting from the Erosion Zone.

"Let’s try one more time."

At that, Heung-bok immediately brought over the mirror.

This was the third time today.

While he was searching for coordinates through the mirror and pouring in magic power, the focus, which kept feeling like he was groping in the fog, suddenly sharpened.

'Now is the time!'

He didn't need to put in the effort to open a round door inside the Erosion Zone.

As soon as Go Nam-tae caught the coordinates, he 'tore' the spot at once!

He could feel the resistance pushing back to keep the door from opening on the other side, but Go Nam-tae was stronger.

Zzzzt!

With the sensation of space opening, the other space beyond the mirror was finally revealed.

"……Did it work?"

However, the scenery beyond the mirror was a bit confusing.

It resembled an ordinary forest, so he couldn't be sure if it was the Erosion Zone.

Toto said.

[It worked! It is the Erosion Zone!]

"What? Really?"

[It has not been eroded for long, so the deformation is not large, but the trees are changing little by little.]

[You can be more certain if you throw a pumpkin.]

As if waiting, Heung-bok handed over a leaf filled with small pumpkins.

"Thank you, Heung-bok!"

As Go Nam-tae threw a few pumpkins, they grew in an instant and formed vines.

Heung-bok could control the pumpkins, but it was Go Nam-tae who supplied the magic power.

But even though he wasn't pouring in magic power right now, the pumpkins grew in the blink of an eye.

It was a phenomenon that only occurred in places full of magic power, inside a labyrinth, or in an Erosion Zone.

……It was an Erosion Zone.

"It worked!"

As Go Nam-tae waved his triumphant fist, his kin rejoiced with him.

-Wow, it worked, it worked!

'The Boss is the best!'

He was embarrassed by the excessive praise, but the taste of success after days of repeated failures was sweet.

"If it’s like this here, doesn't it mean it will be harder to catch coordinates as the erosion gets worse?"

His interference power was no exception in the Erosion Zone.

There was only a difference in sequence, but the Erosion Zone was also a place that had to be conquered someday.

[That too can be conquered through practice.]

[Or if the Boss's magic power becomes greater than it is now.]

"Ah……."

'If something gets difficult, doubt the amount of magic power.'

Because it was such a consistent answer, Go Nam-tae just accepted it now.

The door he had opened with such difficulty closed just like that, without him even having a chance to look inside the Erosion Zone.

Of course, this was also because of a lack of magic power.

"I got it, let's just get to work. Alright, starting again from now!"

As Go Nam-tae stood up and announced the end of the break, Danhong scurried over to Heung-bok.

-Heung-bok, did you hear what I said earlier? You have to grow up a lot!

Behind Danhong, a large pumpkin leaf was closing in.

Getting hit every time, why couldn't she think to look behind her……?

-U-pu-pu-pooh! Let me goooooo!

As Go Nam-tae picked up a saw, Heung-bok followed along, shaking the leaf that had trapped the nagger.

Thanks to all the wood he got from clearing inside the rocks, he had already built a villa in no time.

Either way, they were all going to sleep together in the room where Go Nam-tae slept, so there were many rooms.

He had to find trees for the arbor pillars separately from the outside, so he was heading to the nearby forest.

Danhong, who had been released in the meantime, pointed at the trees one by one and critiqued them.

-This one is too fat but frail. It’s much weaker than Heung-bok. This one is too thin. It would wobble if the wind just blew. Hmm, this one is also weaker than Heung-bok! Wow, this one is really tall! Huh? Heung-bok, can you grow bigger than this?

Did she know what she was talking about? Danhong’s critique was quite specific and accurate.

Go Nam-tae waited in silence for her to choose the trees.

-Boss, Boss! This one, and this, this, and this would be good! They are weaker than Heung-bok, but among these, this is the best!

Danhong’s choice was excellent.

Behind her, Toto was floating an OK sign.

'Cut!'

With one skill, one by one, the trees nearly 40 meters tall didn't fall… no, they did.

Heung-bok held each one tightly and dragged the trees separated from their stumps.

If it weren't for Heung-bok, this construction wouldn't even have been able to start.

Heung-bok acted as a pillar reinforcement, a support, and a crane.

He grew taller just like Danhong said and fit the trees into the holes he had dug in advance, one by one.

Even with just the pillars standing, it already looked decent.

As for the branches on the trees, he only trimmed the ones that bumped into each other on the inside to the minimum.

Danhong climbed to the top in the meantime and shouted.

-Wow, wow, whoa! Shark-y, our arbor will go inside here!

The creature, who was very interested in Go Nam-tae’s project, actually responded to that remark.

Splash!

-Thank you, you kind thing! I’ll share something delicious with you later!

Splash, splash!

A fervent response came back.

If the 'later' Danhong mentioned was really going to come, Go Nam-tae would also have to conquer the sea.

If that happened, would the shark be pushed away even further……?

'Boss, come over here.'

Heung-bok also solved the problem of climbing to the dizzying height.

When he boarded the stem elevator that descended between the trees, he reached the top in an instant.

The top where four different trees were joined formed a dense forest in itself.

Go Nam-tae trimmed the spot where the arbor would be placed between them.

-If the arbor is inside here, nobody outside will know!

That was what he was aiming for too.

A secret hideout.

Isn't that a common dream for people of all ages?

Danhong tilted her head.

-Boss, this tree is dead. Won’t the leaves all fall off?

Then Heung-bok answered first.

'Later, I will cover this place.'

-Heung-bok is a greedy person!

'……What?'

-There are pointy leaves, and round leaves too. But only pumpkin leaves……, u-be-be-be!

Even while bickering with Danhong, Heung-bok was diligently bringing up materials.

As Go Nam-tae started to build the floor, the others also rushed in.

"It’s narrow here, so just bring me what I need one by one."

'Yes!'

Ha-eul tapped the leaf that Danhong was trapped in and let her out.

-Heung-bok, you really…!

However, 'grudges' were words that didn't exist for her.

As soon as she saw Go Nam-tae holding a wooden board, she ran over with her eyes sparkling.

-Boss, Boss! Please embed a lot of these in here!

Danhong offered her entire pocket again.

Even though she seemed to use them diligently every day, another handful of gems came out of the inverted pocket.

Well, she was a creature whose mood jumped up and down every day with a series of rice cakes she fell in love with every time she ate, so gems kept piling up.

"Sure, I’ll embed them for you."

Danhong’s gems generally maintain warmth.

Even so, embedding all of them wouldn't turn it into a hot sauna.

It would just be quite sparkly.

For reference, one of the rooms in the villa that he wouldn't even use was also sparkling.

As he finished laying the floor, rooms were created section by section thanks to the tree branches left here and there.

He built and attached a railing to the largest room.

-Boss, this is the best place to say hello to Shark-y!

The shark probably wouldn't welcome it that much, but he added a viewing deck and a bench.

He also made one bed to lie on while zoning out.

Most importantly!

A dining table where all the family members could sit around and eat together arrived.

Go Nam-tae didn't even have to touch the roof.

'I will cover this top part!'

He finished by having Heung-bok place his large leaves on top.

A flat floor with a roof.

Even though the scale was a bit extraordinary, the arbor was completed.

'Father, how is it?'

The arbor, which his father would probably have liked very much, was even recognized by the system.

[Boss’s Arbor - Structure, Resting Place]

[Access Control : Unauthorized existence cannot approach]

[Automatic Restoration : Automatically recovers after a certain period if damaged]

[Vision Expansion : Increased vision range when observing enemies]

[Magic Recovery Increase : Faster magic recovery during rest]

[Food Preservation Enhanced : Prevents spoilage and deterioration of stored food]

[Purification Ability Improvement : Mitigates magic poisoning, increased detoxification and purification power]

※Boss's magic power needs periodic charging : Period varies depending on magic size

The final warning didn't seem necessary at all.

He would probably come every day anyway.

Even if his territory grew wider and he made a garden bigger and more beautiful than this, he didn't think it would beat this arbor he made first.

There was no time to wallow in sentimental feelings for long.

A high-pitched voice woke his eardrums.

-Boss, Boss, Boss! The trees over there have grown a lot! Can we pick them now?

"Day after tomorrow, no, it might even be ready tomorrow."

-Wow, wow, wow! I’m going to be the first one to pick!

Danhong jumped down toward the orchard.

When he was organizing this place, Go Nam-tae made the orchard area first and planted seeds.

Just as Toto had predicted, they were finally about to face their first harvest after almost a month.

Among them, what Danhong was waiting for most was the jujubes and chestnuts.

Isn't that obvious?

Jujubes and chestnuts were ingredients for rice cakes.

"Should I also look into how to make apple rice cakes……."

If it were Go Mi-young, she could teach him recipes for fruit rice cakes too.

But Go Mi-young was way too busy because she had to open a factory soon.

Go Mi-young, who had been researching various types of kimchi, finally decided to open a factory.

Of course, Go Nam-tae was planting more Napa cabbage and radishes to supply enough volume.

"I really have to open the doors between labyrinths now."

Go Nam-tae opened the door as a habit.

In order, the hometown house door first.

The Saeron Guild members were still waiting in front of the labyrinth.

Thanks to Jeong Sang-myeong staying back and guarding it himself, other guilds couldn't approach it carelessly.

The moment Go Nam-tae was closing the door, Jeong Sang-myeong shouted something.

"Park Ha-na with mercenaries?"

Go Nam-tae opened the next door.

Pop!

Only an empty leaf with nothing inside came in.

It meant there was no change.

Finally, the Erosion Zone.

Making fixed coordinates was the hard part, but it wasn't difficult anymore.

The time it took to open the door was gradually getting longer too.

The moment the door opened, a sound he had never heard before rang out.

Kyaaaaaak!

It was the sound of a human scream.